Corey Wagar is an up an coming singer/songwriter who made some waves with both her debut single "I Hate My Boyfriend" hitting on the Music Row chart and a Hollywood round placement on this season's American Idol. The talented vocalist didn't necessarily need the program to further her career as she's working with Kent Wells (Dolly Parton, Eric Lee Beddingfield, etc.). In this feature interview we learn about Corey's background, her early career and much more. Read below to enjoy the whole review.
Matt Bjorke: Where are you from?
Corey Wagar: I'm from Colts Neck, New Jersey. Bruce Springsteen land (points to springsteen t-shirt she's wearing).
Matt: So you know real pizza too, then!
Corey: Yes, and I just ordered pizza too, so I'm a little worried.
Matt: Have you ever tried NY Pie in West Nashville?
Corey: No Not yet but I've been told about it!
Matt: it's really good.
Matt: So we talked about Bruce Springsteen a bit but what other artists did you grow up listening to?
Corey: I grew up listening to everything. My friends who'd hear my iPod would have no idea who I was listening to but my dad was always listening to the Eagles and Kenny Rogers and I always tell this story but when I was in the 3rd grade, my uncle would play the Dixie Chicks for me while saying "you sound like them, you can sing like them…" But I was more like Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls but I grew to love them (the Dixie Chicks) and country music, the harmonies and the stories the songs tell. So I literally grew up listening to everything…I was a huge Ricky Martin fan as well, his show was my first concert.
Matt: How old were you when you wrote your first song?
Corey: I was in fourth grade with my friends and we called ourself the blondettes. I would write the songs, we'd sing them and make up the dance routines…That was embarrassing enough but I was probably in eight grade when I focused on them, whether they are good or not.
Matt: You've been writing with some fantastic writers like Karen Staley, Billy Montana and Jamie O'Neal. How did working with them shape you as a songwriter and artist?
Corey: In so many ways, When I wrote with them, that's when I first started writing and creating the album and what I really wanted my story and message to be. It was really cool to learn from them cause I hadn't written in Nashville before then so they basically taught me how to write. You can learn so much by writing with great writers. Karen Staley is one of my favorite writers in the world and is absolutely hysterical. She taught me it was my story and that I could say anything I want in the world. We wrote the song called "Girl fight together. I was all nervous about it. I didn't want to write it but it was a true story about a girl who stole my boyfriend and Karen, she told me we should just write it and that we really can say anything…
Matt: And you were probably thinking, "I don't wanna get them mad at me!"…
Corey: Yeah and there's a line in the song where it says "I've never been prone to violence in past but honey you'd make Ghandi wanna kick your ass". She said that as a joke but I was like, 'no, we're putting that in.' She's one of my favorite writers and taught me that it's OK to say what you want and to be real.
Matt: That's what fans want and they'll notice if you're not real…
Corey: Yep, they know!
Matt: How did you come to meet your producer Kent Wells?
Corey: I met him through a friend that saw me playing in New Jersey, my dad had restaurants all along the Jersey shore and I was probably 15 years old playing at an open mic nite at my father's restaurant. He came up to me and there was this guy there who had seen me about four times and he said 'give me a call, I have an office in NY and I want you to meet this producer.' I was like "OK" but as a 15 year old, anyone could say anything but We finally called him and met Kent. It was the best thing that's happened in my life so far. It happened out of nowhere but it's all about being at the right place at the right time. I came down here and did one song with Kent and was amazed at how everything came together in process. Amazed at how everything worked and how the musicians listen to half of the song and then go in and play it. After that, we went and recorded four more songs before eventually recording something like 35 songs and we had to narrow it down and pick which ones we wanted to do.
Matt: "That'll be album number two, that'll be album number three. We may have to record the vocals again because you're older but…"
Corey: Exactly! That's one of the things we struggled with two because we spent so much time to work on the songs and recording everything because I'm a perfectionist when it comes to that stuff. IT's funny because my voice changed so much between 15 to 17! You can even hear it on the album too, which songs were older and which ones were newer.
Matt: What have you leaned as a performer when you share the stage with big acts like Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts and even the rock acts you've watched them perform?
Corey: I'm such an observer! My friends won't go to concerts with me anymore because I'll sit there and take notes and after performing a show, I'll stay there and pay attention. The biggest thing I've learned from country artists is that they take their time and talk to the audience and show that they're real people. There are rock and pop acts that don't do that, they just sing their songs and leave but for me, country music is so real in the way the artists go on stage and treat their audience as their friends. I've learned so much. Little tricks from Dolly too, with sweet tea and different drinks which are good for your throat.
Matt: Makes sense though because it coats your throat unlike beer which dries you out…
Corey: They say that Beer's the worst too, because of the yeast or something…
Matt: What can you tell me about your new single "Take Ya Back"?
Corey: It is awesome! I wrote it with Cece Dubois and Beau Fuller and I think it was our first time writing together as a trio. I'd written with Beau a couple of times and he's such a great writer, friend and person but this song, it was amazing to watch it come together. We were all on the same page with the story and it's really about me and how songs can bring you back to certain memories. Because every time I hear "Brown Eyed Girl" I am taken back to being 3 years old on stage with my dad. It's a song that's all about how a song can be like a time warp and take you back to a memory. It's light hearted, catchy and fun. It's so much fun to perform. It's a fun song and isn't serious and it's just me. It's a little more country than the stuff found on my first album which was more rock country or "Jersey country."
Matt: If it's too country, it won't get played on radio…It boggles my mind how everything needs to sound the same like Lady A or Eric Church or something. It'd be cool if they'd play some traditional sounding stuff that wasn't George Strait from time to time…
Corey: Yeah, right… The song's really cool too because there's no real structure to it. We just kinda wrote it and whatever we felt like saying and singing came out. I love it.
Matt: Did you work with Kent on the new song?
Corey: Yeah! it was the fastest project we've ever done together. We went into the studio one week after writing it and then a week after that had the artwork done for it too and to set it up time wise (for radio, etc.). Kent was like there's nothing that needed to be changed on the song either because it was a real genuine emotion.
Matt: Is there going to be an album or an EP coming soon?
Corey: Probably an EP will be in the works. I have been writing every day and we'll see where this song goes and how far we can push it. There's definitely gonna be a new album in the future. We're going to be cutting some more songs and redoing some of the vocals on some of those older songs.
Matt: I guess you work with another perfectionist too, with Kent…
Corey: Oh, my gosh, yes.
Matt: Well he'd have to be to work with Dolly, someone who likes to do her own makeup to get it right.
Corey: For sure. She's amazing.
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